Recent finds by Silvija Daniunaite

Things we want you to know about and people we want to give a little extra support. This time on Subbacultcha’s menu – a new masterpiece in the Dutch film scene. We bring you a truly soul-stirring story of resilience and perseverance in light of life-changing trauma. Guaranteed to move the hearts of absolutely everyone out there.

Text by Silvija Daniunaite

Sacha Polak | Dirty God

Featuring yet another empowering female protagonist, the Dutch film director Sacha Polak returns with her gripping drama Dirty God, which premiered as the opening film for the 48th International Film Festival in Rotterdam earlier this year. Polak’s English debut tells a story about Jade (Vicky Knight), a young mother who struggles through recovery after an acid attack from her ex-lover that scarred half her body, just as much as it scarred her soul. A raw, genuine and vulnerable meditation upon the relationship between external beauty and internal dignity, Dirty Godturns away from traditional representations of burn survivors as victims or objects of pity to instead shine light on the protagonist’s journey to self-rediscovery as one of empowerment, perseverance and inner strength. Facing difficult choices in grappling with fundamental aspects of her new self – a stranger in her own skin, if you will – Jade emerges as a character whose identity transcends the normative boundaries of her appearance to illustrate the gradual budding of self-love and affirmation in light of her physical and emotional trauma.

Dirty God is co-produced between the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Belgium and Ireland, and was released in Belgium on 10 July.